a recap of intern week 2024

Intern Week is one of TBG’s most beloved traditions, and we are excited to have Michaela Coulter, Julia Li, and Kayla Bennett recap the week from their unique point of views! In the course of this week TBG interns are given the opportunity to develop their skills, learn our design process, and strengthen collaboration. This year’s event was located in the Dallas office with interns participating in a 3-day project workshop focused on creating a site responsive masterplan for Windsong Ranch and Prosper Parks and Recreation.

Let’s meet the interns hailing from eight different universities!

Class of 2024

Austin
Kareem Harris — University of Wisconsin
Kristen Juen — UT Austin
Julia Li — Penn State University
CC Fan — UT Austin (UD+ P)

Dallas
Michaela Coulter — Kansas State University
Heena Shrestha — UT Arlington
Maria Rubio — UT Austin (UD+ P)
Juan Lozano — Purdue University
Luis Campos — Purdue University

Houston
Tianyi Shi — Louisiana State University
Kayla Bennett — Texas A&M University
Lauren Kasel — Texas A&M University
Trinity Phan — Texas A&M University

San Antonio
Sydney Puentes — Texas A&M University

Intern Week Recap

Intern Week kicked off at TBG’s trails master planning project at Windsong Ranch’s amenity center in Prosper, Texas. All of TBG’s 2024 summer interns gathered for a tour of the site, led by Mark Meyer, and he explained the vision for this future park. Set to be a sports-hub destination, the park will cater to nearby residents with cricket, pickleball, soccer, and football fields. Additionally, the design includes a space dedicated to inclusive play while respecting and embracing the natural features of the site.

After the introduction, we got our feet dirty and toured the project site with the project team and clients. Despite the hot and muddy conditions, we relished the chance to explore the undeveloped land, an opportunity seldom available in our school settings. We got a feel for the practical user experience by translating topography contours from plan view to navigate through the tall grass. We noted unique land features, including steep slopes, swales, an old windmill, diverse animal habitats, and the Doe Branch creek with its 100-year floodplain. Covered in sweat, mud, and sticker burrs up to our waists, we connected deeply with the site’s nature and history.

The following day, back in the Dallas office, each of the three teams—Cool Cappys, Team2, and The Spice Gals!—compiled the information gathered on-site and from the clients into a site analysis diagram. Emphasizing key takeaways throughout this process allowed us to think carefully through how the sites’ various constraints could turn into exciting opportunities, naturally leading us into drawing functional use diagrams (FUDs). For many, it was a first experience creating a FUD, so this was a great facilitator in understanding each other’s unique design processes and learning how to communicate within our teams.

On Day 3, we were eager but anxious about bringing our final graphics to life. Luckily, each team made decisive design choices and played to each person’s strengths, so we were done for the day by 8:30pm! On the charrette’s final day, we pinned up and presented all our hard work from the past two days to the week’s leaders and clients. To drive design and presentation narratives, the teams’ concepts particularly leaned into the site’s past as an egg farm and present as valuable bird habitat. The clients enjoyed our contextual and creative ways to mix play, stormwater mitigation, community connection, and biodiversity preservation!

Key Takeaways

Intern Week took us back to the basics to re-visit the importance of the discovery phase, relationship diagrams, and quick hand-drawn sketches like perspective vignettes. Since landscape architecture changes based on where you are and who is teaching, it was interesting to meet with the other interns and talk about their experiences with their respective university programs. We got a taste of the designer-client relationship—how to keep the client along for the ride, balance implementing their programmatic goals while maintaining our own sustainability goals, and advocate for ideas that challenge the status quo. This week-long design charette highlighted the importance of supporting each other’s ideas, emotions, and design backgrounds. We can’t wait to take our lessons learned with us throughout our internships here with TBG, the rest of our educations, and future careers!

The Spice Gals:  Heena Shrestha, Sydney Puentes, CC Fan, and Kayla Bennett

Team2:  Mario Rubio, Michaela Coulter, Kristen Juen, and Trinity Phan

Cool Cappys: Lauren Kasel, Luis Campos, and Julia Li